"World's Largest Swimming Lesson" To Be Held Tuesday

Bethlehem area kids will be among 10,000 swimmers on four continents who
will take part in “The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson” at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Hundreds of pools and other aquatic centers – from Disney World to Dubai
- are hosting the international event intended to set a new Guinness World
Record for the largest simultaneous swimming lesson ever conducted.

Registration in Bethlehem will start at 10 a.m. at Memorial Pool, Illick’s Mill Road. The free lesson will run from 11 to 11:45 a.m. and is open to children ages 6 to 14. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

“The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson was created as a platform to help aquatic
facilities and the many different water safety and drowning prevention organizations work together to communicate the fundamental importance of teaching children to swim,” according to the event’s website.

Swimming lessons at Bethlehem's Memorial Pool begin June 20 for pre-school (ages 4-5) and youth (6 and older). The two-week session runs Monday through Friday and costs $55 oer child.

Organizers of Tuesday's event say drowning is the second leading cause of unintended, injury-related death of children ages 1-14, and that research
shows if a child doesn’t learn to swim before the third grade, they likely never will.

The National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday in the Lehigh Valley is cloudy with a chance of showers and a high of about 70 degrees.